Episode 32 of The Mormon Book Review features Latter-day Saint author and evolutionary ecologist Steven Peck speaking about his existentialist horror novella A Short Stay in Hell. Kirk Caudle explores Peck’s thoughts on exploring other faith traditions, how to find religious truth through fictional literature, and the dizzying vastness of eternity.

Peck is an evolutionary ecologist who teaches history, philosophy of science, and bioethics at Brigham Young University. He has published articles in American Naturalist, Newsweek, Evolution, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Biological Theory, Agriculture and Human Values, and Biology & Philosophy, and has also edited a volume on environmental stewardship. His other books and short stories include The Scholar of Moab (Torrey House Press) and a young adult novel about warrior squirrels called Rifts of Ryme (Cedar Fort Press). Earlier this week, Peck announced that A Short Stay in Hell has been picked up by indie film director David Spaltro for a film adaptation (see here).

*The audio quality for this episode is poor. You can download this episode by right clicking here and selecting “Save as.”

You can subscribe to the Maxwell Institute Podcast through iTunes. The podcatcher RSS feed is mi.byu.edu/feed/podcast. Send questions or comments about this and other episodes to blairhodges@byu.edu.